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Good Pastures Restaurant closes; new operators leave

Good Pastures Restaurant, a staple among eateries on Horizon Drive in Grand Junction for nearly 30 years, has closed. New operators Raul and Cathy Wolf walked off the premises Friday, saying they were terminating a three-year lease.

By {screen_name}
Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Good Pastures Restaurant, a staple among eateries on Grand Junction’s Horizon Drive for nearly 30 years, closed this weekend after the restaurant’s new operators abruptly left.

Richard Tally, co-owner of the restaurant and the Quality Inn in which the restaurant is located, said Sunday that he received a call from Good Pastures operator Cathy Wolf around 3:30 p.m. Friday informing him that she and her husband, Raul, had closed the restaurant.

“I got a call from Cathy Wolf saying they had left the keys at the front desk and left and they were not coming back and they were terminating the lease,” Tally said.

Tally, who along with his wife, Jean, have owned the restaurant and motel at 733 Horizon Drive for 16 years, said the Wolfs contacted them about taking over the operation of the restaurant. The Tallys were looking to get out of the restaurant business and focus on other business obligations, including the Wine Country Inn in Palisade.

The Tallys agreed to a three-year lease with the Wolfs, who closed the restaurant in late October for remodeling and reopened at the beginning of November under a new name, Wolf’s Good Pastures Restaurant.

The Wolfs came under fire almost immediately after they laid off most of the staff, many of whom were longtime employees, and hired new workers.

Richard Tally said he and the Wolfs received several complaints about the quality of the food and said the Wolfs lost Good Pastures’ customer base.

“It is disappointing and quite surprising, frankly,” he said.

Tally said the Wolfs own or used to own a restaurant in Wray, a small town in northeastern Colorado.

The Daily Sentinel was unable to reach the Wolfs for comment Sunday. Local phone directories don’t contain a listing for them. Phone numbers listed to them in Wray are disconnected.

Tally said he doesn’t know yet whether he and his wife will pursue any remedies against the Wolfs for breaking the lease.

“We’re not quite sure what kind of debts they left,” he said.

Tally said he scrambled Friday afternoon to ensure hotel guests were served breakfast Saturday morning.

He said the restaurant will be closed to the general public, but the Quality Inn will continue to offer breakfast to hotel guests and food service for special events.

“We would like to thank our former customers and our former staff for all their loyalty over the years,” Tally said.